Celerra [EOL] vs Dell PowerScale comparison

Celerra [EOL] and Dell PowerScale are both solutions in the NAS category. Additionally, 100% of Celerra [EOL] users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Dell PowerScale users who would recommend it.

Celerra [EOL]

Read 1 Celerra [EOL] review

100% willing to recommend

Dell PowerScale

Read 98 Dell PowerScale reviews

17,013 Views
9,357 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Celerra [EOL]

Dell PowerScale

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Celerra [EOL] and Dell PowerScale based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, NetApp, CTERA and others in NAS.

To learn more, read our detailed NAS Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

NAS

August 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 908,800 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Celerra [EOL]

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Dell PowerScale

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

NAS (1st), File and Object Storage (1st)

Featured Reviews

it_user5157

Sr System Engineer at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees

Highly scalable and reliable SAN with fiber channel connectivity but bulky in size and consumes a lot of power

Hot spare disk system to take over the full workload in the event of a failure, at the same performance and service levels. The data is clustered over multiple disks so data read/write access time is very low. Fiber channel connectivity option for high speed data transfer. Single point of management/control. Customized version of Linux OS hence much higher security.

Read full review

RahulSharma8

Storage Platform Engineer at Expedia Group

Unified file sharing has simplified multi-tenant access and has delivered seamless data replication

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) includes its replication features; when we decommissioned our old Isilon cluster, we migrated all of the data to a new cluster, and it was pretty seamless. All you have to do is create the certificates and make those certificates available to the target cluster, then initiate a few jobs. The inter-cluster replication feature, called SyncIQ, allows you to set up all of the jobs and move your data entirely, either timely or all at once. Another suitable feature is the ability to back up your directories; you can take snapshots for all of your directories, and in fact, I believe you can take around a thousand snapshots for a single directory. The inter-replication, geo-replication is one feature. Dell provides a variety class of hardware suitable for your workloads, meaning if your data is just lab and not critical, you don't have to spend much on the hardware; conversely, if your data is mission-critical, you can buy a high-performance node from Dell. Additionally, you can span Dell PowerScale (Isilon) cluster to a large number of nodes, and code upgrades are pretty smooth because all protocols will be upgraded under a single piece of code. Since it provides a single file system that spans across the nodes, you don't have to worry about that directory structure being separately created on individual nodes, making it a fitting solution for a data lake solution because you can access the same data from multiple protocols.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"At last we bought this Celerra NS 40, with 17 TB of space which is giving superb performance."

"The ease of use of this solution has been the most valuable aspect as well as the SyncIQ and snapshot features."

"It has allowed us to have more consistent quality controls. It has also allowed us to expand the number of servers in clients processing and accessing data, allowing us to get a lot bigger projects out the door."

"Its scalability has been huge for us."

"The tool's most valuable features are high density and scalability."

"I appreciate the high-availability data storage feature of Dell PowerScale the most, as it has benefited my organization by improving storage and collapsing technologies, making it easier for the users and aligning with our digital transformation initiatives by collapsing a large environment to a small footprint."

"The overall operational efficiency and ease of use of Dell PowerScale is commendable; it is very good storage with easy access via GUI, meaning we do not need to perform many complex maneuvers for storage management."

"Overall, the hardware itself, and the OneFS file system, are the best selling points, combined with the delivery and the installation."

"Prior to Isilon, we had to access data from multiple different platforms, and this solution offers unified storage and the ability to consolidate and migrate data, which was a big step forward and allowed us to cut costs by eliminating multiple platforms and putting it all on one array."

More Dell PowerScale pros

Cons

"Very bulky and heavy in weight."

"We have had issues with internal load balancing between some of the shelves. That is an ongoing issue that support is trying to address."

"There aren't many templates still coming out for it. They need to provide templates so we can copy and paste what we've done in the past to future, new things."

"My experience with customer service and technical support has been challenging. The reason is that it is difficult to find subject matter experts around the solution."

"The biggest weakness is small file handling."

"The price of the solution could be reduced."

"PowerScale is not suitable for virtual environments."

"The previous versions do not support features like object storage; S3 and better cloud connectivity are things I would like to see."

"I believe the support engineers need to improve their skills."

More Dell PowerScale cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is an expensive solution."

"The price of the solution is high."

"The pricing is expensive, but I think it's a fair value because it does manage itself. It definitely is much simpler than any of the other scale-out storage platforms that we've looked at in the past."

"The price of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is reasonable."

"Dealing with the product costs and licensing areas is getting easier since Dell is simplifying the licensing process and licensing packages offered to users."

"It is an expensive solution."

"The platform is not cheap. However, on the software side, you can choose what you want license. So, you can start your licensing with the features that you need, then after buying the platform add some other features."

"It's a high-cost offering amounting to three or four million Swedish kronor, or about $400,000 or euros, for approximately 480 terabytes of storage."

More Dell PowerScale pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which NAS solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	54

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Dell PowerScale has been expensive. Setup costs or provisioning experience has been pleasant. Typically you have kickoff meetings and there...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

For improvements, we can focus on enhancing performance, upgrading the nodes, and accessing data through Isilon for more efficiency. Additionally, improvements to interfaces and certain aspects of ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

Dell PowerScale is our main NAS environment storage where we create CIFS and NFS file shares for users.When users request a CIFS file share, they specify the SMB share name and the SmartConnect zon...

See all answers

Comparisons

No data available

NetApp FAS Series vs Dell PowerScale

Compared 17% of the time

Everpure FlashBlade vs Dell PowerScale

Compared 8% of the time

Qumulo vs Dell PowerScale

Compared 5% of the time

VAST Data vs Dell PowerScale

Compared 3% of the time

Dell ObjectScale vs Dell PowerScale

Compared 3% of the time

More Dell PowerScale Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

NAS

August 2026

Download Celerra [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerScale

August 2026

Download Dell PowerScale product report

Also Known As

Celerra

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon

Overview

Each Celerra unified product is a dedicated network server optimized for file and block access, delivering high-end features in a scalable, easy-to-use package. For the ultimate in scalability, the Celerra unified storage platforms leverage both the innovative best-in-class EMC Fibre Channel RAID storage and deliver industry-leading EMC Celerra availability, performance, and ease of management. Celerra unified storage systems deliver a single-box block and file solution offering a centralized point of management for distributed environments.

Dell Technologies

Dell PowerScale leads in unstructured data management with unified file and object storage, massive scalability, security, and cloud adaptability, enhancing AI, analytics, and enterprise applications with exceptional performance and resilience.

Dell PowerScale Isilon provides a comprehensive platform for unstructured data, excelling in scalability, management, and performance. With features like single-pane management, SyncIQ, and SmartQuotas, it handles large datasets with flexibility and robust security. Its multi-protocol support and seamless expansion improve operational efficiency. While it offers strong data protection, enhancements in cloud integration, cybersecurity, and performance are sought. Users note potential for cost reductions and streamlined configurations and mention desired improvements in object storage handling and NFS support.

What are the key features of Dell PowerScale Isilon?

Single-pane management: Simplifies data control and monitoring through a unified interface.
SyncIQ: Ensures efficient data replication for business continuity.
SmartQuotas: Provides intelligent quota management for optimized storage allocation.
Multi-protocol support: Facilitates cross-platform data access and integration.
Seamless storage expansion: Allows effortless scaling to accommodate growing data needs.

What benefits should users consider when reviewing Dell PowerScale Isilon?

Operational efficiency: Reduces workload with easy management and automation.
Enhanced security: Offers comprehensive data protection and recovery options.
Scalability: Supports large-scale data storage with flexible growth capabilities.
Performance: Delivers high-speed data processing for demanding applications.
Integration flexibility: Adapts to on-prem and hybrid cloud environments for diverse deployment needs.

Organizations across industries utilize Dell PowerScale Isilon for large-scale unstructured storage, supporting applications like video archiving, genomic data storage, and high-resolution imaging. Educational institutions, research centers, and media enterprises rely on its scaled-out storage capabilities, providing centralized, secure storage for diverse applications in hybrid, cloud, and on-prem environments.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

Wentworth-Douglas Hospital, Kindred Healthcare, Cosentry, Sumitomo Life Insurance Company, Shriners, BZWBK

OMRF, University of Utah, Translational Genetics Research Institute, Arcis, Geofizyka Torumn, Cyprus E&P Corporation, Colburn School, Columbia Sportswear, Harvard Medical School, University of Michigan, National Library of France,

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, NetApp, CTERA and others in NAS. Updated: August 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best NAS vendors.

We monitor all NAS reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.